Garment-supporter clasp.



No. 875,089 PATENTED DEG. 81, 1907. J'. MALTBY & J. J. BUCHANAN.

GARMENT SUPPORTER CLASP.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 29, 1905.

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JULIUS MALTBYAND JOHN J. BUCHANAN, OF WATERBURY, CONNEGTICUTJASSIGNOR TO THE WATERBURY BUCKLE COMPANY, OF WATER-BURY, CONNEOTlOUT, A CORPORATION.

GARMENT-SUPPORTER CLASP.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 31, 1907.

AppLcation filed May 29, 1905- Serial No. 262.849.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JULIUS MALTBY and JOHN J. BUCHANAN, citizens of the United States, residing at Waterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Garment-Supporter Clasps; and we do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in

liigure 1 a view in front elevation of a garmerit-supporter clasp constructed in accordance with. our invention Fig. 2 a rear view thereof. Fig/3 an edge view thereof showing the wire suspension-loop in section and the jaws sprung open. Fig. 4 a correspond ing view with the jaws shown as closed and partly in section. Fig. 5 a view in transverse section on the line a l) of Fig. 4, 1ooking in the direction of the arrow 0.. Fig. 6 a' detached perspective view of the operating-levcr. Fig. 7 a detached view of the initial blank used in the production of the 'jaws. Fig. 8 a view of the blank after it has been developed but before it has been bent upon itself. Fig. 9 an edge view of the developed blank shown by Fig. 8.

Our invention relates to an improvement in garment-supporter clasps, the object being to produce, at a low cost for manufacture, a simple, compact, convenient, effective, reliable and durable article.

With these ends in view, our invention consists in a garment-supporter clasp having certain details of construction and combinations of parts as will be hereinafter described and pointed. out in the claims.

As herein shown, our improved garmentsupporter clasp comprises a front or outer jaw 2 and a back or inner jaw 3 made from a single piece of sheet metal which is bent transversely midway of its length to produce a sleeve-like bow 4 which forms a spring for automatically se arating the said jaws as well as a socket or the reception of the deflected lower bar 5 of a wire suspension-loop also comprising an upper bar 6 and rounded ends 7, 7. The back jaw 3 is formed about midway of its length upon its side edges with two forwardly projecting integral, ears 8 receiving the front jaw 2 between them. and having alined per forations 9 for the reception of integral trunnions 10 formed at the opposite ends of the short arm 11 of an operating-lever the long arm 12 of which is slightly bowed and forms a 'lingerpiece. The short. arm 1.1 of the said lever has a straight edge 13 and swings in a semicircular seat or bond 14 formed by striking inward a portion of the front jaw 2. The said semicircular seat is coextensive w." the full width of the front jaw 2 andis located therein so that it enters the space between the two cars 8. We wish particularly to point out in this connection, that the seat 14 is struck from a center represented by a line passing through the trunnions 10 of the operatinglever. Under this construction the bearing ofthe edge 13 of the short arm 11 of the lever upon the surface of the seat 14- will always be the same or equalized so that when the lever is in its closed position as shown in Fig. 4, and the edge 13 has passed the center of the seat, there will be no letting up of pressure, so to speak, by the lever on the front jaw of the clasp, whereas, in some of the garment-supporter clasps of the prior art there is a relaxation of grip or loosening of the hold, as the lever moves into its final operating position. In other words, when the edge 18 has passed the center of the seat 14 it will be farther away from the center of the lower bar 5 of the suspension loop than the center of the trunnions 10, the center of the bar 5 constituting, as it were, the fulcrum of the outer jaw 2 and the center of the trunnions l0 constituting the fulcrum of the operating-lever. The said front jaw 2 is made slightly shorter than the back jaw 3 and has its free end turned inward to produce a gripping edge 15 notched as at 16, 16, (Fig. 5) for the production of three broad teeth 1'7 all of which shut in on the inside of the gripping edge 18 produced by bending the free end of the back jaw 3 forward at a right angle. For the reception of the said three teeth 17, the back-jaw 3 is struck inward at a point just inside of its gripping edge 18 to form three shallow pockets 19. The teeth 17 whether they enter the pockcis 19 or not, force the fabric thcreinto and effectually grip the same without puncturing it.

Fig. 7 shows the first form of the blank 20 from which the developed blank 21 shown by Figs. 8 and 9 is produced, the develo ed blank being bent upon itself 'in the To uction of the front and rear jaws 2 an 3 and the bow 4.

It is apparent that in car 'ng out our invention some changes in t e construction herein shown and described may be made.

We would therefore have it understood that we do not limit ourselves thereto, but hold ourselves at liberty to make such departures therefrom as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is In a garment-supporter clasp, the combination with a front jaw transversely bowed inwardly to form a semi-circular seat coextensive with the full width of the jaw; of a back jaw having forwardly projecting ears receiving the said semi-circular seat between them, and the operating-lever having a long and a short arm, the latter being furnished at its ends with trunnions entering perforations in the said ears of the back jaw, whereby the lever is pivoted in a substantially central position with res ect to the said semi-circular seat of the front jaw sothat there will be no letting up of the pressure ex: erted by the lever on the front jaw when the edge of the short arm of the lever has-passed the center of the seat at which time the said edge is further from the fulcrum of the said front jaw than the fulcrum of the said lever, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. v In testimony whereof, we have signedthis specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JULIUS MALTBY. JOHN J. BUCHANAN. Witnesses W. L. KING, ll. 0. CooLEY. 

